EDITOR'S NOTE:
Privacy Policy
by Barbara Brynko
When I was reading my incoming emails last month, I was just about to delete one I thought was spam. But instead, I opened this “Important Message.” One of my credit card companies was notifying me that its marketing vendor, Epsilon, had experienced “unauthorized access” to email address files. One of those was mine. Then another notification arrived from another company, and then another.
In between the “Dear” salutation and the “Sincerely” signoff, the emails cautioned me to “ignore any e-mail that requests your confidential account or login information.” Right, that’s obvious. But who else gets my data from a company without me ever knowing about it … that is, until I’m notified about a breach? Even with all the privacy safeguards we try to enforce, data is still being breached. Check out Legal Issues on page 28 for more on privacy.
However, our May issue reflects a welcome burst of renewed optimism. Judging from the boost in conference attendance and in increased M&A activity, the grip on our economy is easing a bit. We can see it in the new product rollouts and in people on the move.
You’ll see a glimmer of optimism in each of our features this issue. In our continuing series on industry CEOs, Mike Sweet from Credo Reference discusses his company’s corporate mission in creating new products and services to meet the evolving needs of researchers. Then, writer Kurt Schiller explores how major industry players are lending a hand in providing relief to victims after Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in March. And George Pike takes a closer look at the copyright cases that are still lingering on the federal docket and what it means to the information industry.
This issue has plenty of emerging news and trends. Be sure to let us know what you think or if there’s another topic you’d like us to tackle.
— Barbara Brynko |
